1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to closures and particularly to a double latch flip seal closure which is utilized in conjunction with a carbonated beverage and container.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Flip top closures are fairly well known in the art. However, typical flip top closures incorporate a biased hinge and stationary base portion wherein the flip top portion of the closure is pushed forward by the biasing action of the hinge forcing the flip top up and away from the base portion of the closure. Further, most prior art flip top closures will not work appropriately with carbonated beverages as the contents are held under considerable pressure.
Other threaded closure are also fairly well known in the art for use with carbonated beverages. However, as is fairly well known, one of the drawbacks with use of standard threaded closures on carbonated beverages is a complete removal of the closure from the container thus allowing the closure to be lost after removal. An additional problem known with standard threaded closures on carbonated beverage containers is the venting of the gas from the beverage upon initial unthreading of the closure in that control of the venting is unattainable using traditional treaded closures. Further, adequate sealing of the container may be a problem in standard threaded closures since a definitive seal between the container mouth and closure top wall may be inadequate to properly keep the high pressure contents.
Of the known prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,580 discloses a flip top dispensing closure having a base ring which is rotatable. As is shown in some of the embodiments, rotation causes opening of a lid which is hingedly connected to the base ring. However, this closure lacks many fundamental aspects of a flip top closure necessary for use with carbonated beverages and does not adequately provide a mechanism for two stage opening of the container. Further, when the flip top closure is placed in the open position, the opening structure prevents the flip top from being closed in that position thereby preventing immediate closing and possibly confusing the user.
The prior art therefore is lacking in a double latch flip top closure which has a rotatable base allowing the flip top to be actuated by rotation of the base portion in a manner suitable for use in conjunction with carbonated beverage containers.